N.C. State Tops Clemson

Staff Report

04/06/2002

Wolfpack lefthander Mike Prochaska tossed a complete game, four-hit shutout at the No. 1 Tigers Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, helping N.C. State to a 3-0 victory in the second of a three-game series.

A little lefthander from N.C. State completely shut down Clemson's big bats Saturday.

Prochaska taunted and teased the Tigers all afternoon, mixing his fastball with an assortment of breaking balls and offspeed pitches. When Clemson batters weren't popping up, they were grounding out meekly in the infield or striking out.

The Tigers managed just four singles - two by Khalil Greene and one each from Michael Johnson and Russell Triplett. Triplett's hit was a bunt single leading off the eighth inning.

It was the first time Clemson (26-2, 4-2 ACC) was shut out in nearly a year. North Carolina topped the Tigers 4-0 on April 29, 2001.

"We just didn't play well offensively," Leggett said. "We hit three balls hard all day long, and that was it. And unfortunately all three were right at somebody. We couldn't get anything going, couldn't muster anything offensively.

"Their kid did a good job pitching, but in the last four or five games we've not done a good job of making adjustments offensively and I think we're just a little too tentative. I hate to see us get that way because we're a better offensive team than that."

Prochaska (4-0) struck out six and walked four, but thanks to a pair of double plays, a pickoff of Khalil Greene at first base and knocking off Jeff Baker trying to steal, the sophomore faced just four batters over the minimum.

On the rare occasion a Tiger batter did hit the ball hard, it was directly at a Wolfpack fielder. The only difficult play turned in by N.C. State was leftfielder Brian Wright's nice running catch of a long drive to the gap in leftcenter off the bat of Jeff Baker.

"He moved the ball in and out real well and mixed speeds," said Greene. "That's the first time in a long time, that I can remember, that we've been shut out. He had a good game, but I don't think we particularly swung the bats too well."

N.C. State got all the runs it would need in the fourth inning off Clemson starter and loser Matt Henrie (6-1).

Wright and David Hicks each singled to lead off the inning, and both advanced on a ground out. Wright would score on a ground out by Joe Gaetti, and Colt Morton's two-out double drove in Hicks for a 2-0 lead.

The Wolfpack added an insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single by Matt Butler.